ROMAN MINIATURE OBJECT

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Roman cast copper alloy votive 'socketed' axe. The blade is trapezoid in plan, with the lower edge being slightly concave. The cutting edge is slightly convex. The shaft is rectangular in both profile and cross section through the 'socketed area' before changing to a circular cross section. The object is largely undecorated, except for a cross formed of five punched horizontal and four vertical dots located on the blade where the shaft joins; this decoration is only on one side of the blade - if the cutting edge faced left and the shaft pointing downwards.The shaft is 39.52mm long, measuring 5.47mm wide, 2.74mm thick before changing to a circular cross section of 4.22mm tapering to 3.15mm. The blade is 25.93mm long, measuring 7.53mm wide, 3.22mm thick at the butt end and 16.02mm wide, 1.84mm wide at the cutting edge. It weighs 7.85 grams.